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Banning legal highs won’t work, say police

Legal highs are on sale openly in many places including Camden Lock in North LondonPaul Rogers

Police chiefs have warned the Government that its policy of banning “legal high” drugs is doomed to fail.

The substances, which mimic the effects of controlled drugs such as cannabis, cannot be tackled by declaring them illegal, chief constables say in a document seen by The Times. They also say that they will treat leniently anyone found with one of the substances, meaning that the holder could be cautioned instead of having to go to court.

Their intervention is an embarrassment for the Home Office, which is preparing to use new powers to deal with an explosion in the drugs’ use. The Home Affairs Select Committee, to which the police submission was sent, is inquiring into drug policy.